


Of Shirts and Insecurities

by katie_049



Category: NCIS
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Body Insecurities, Bullying, Ellick week, F/M, First Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:20:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23803750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katie_049/pseuds/katie_049
Summary: A series of events where Nick gives Ellie his shirt and Robbie gets suspicious. Ellick High School AU. Ellick Week Day 4 & 5
Relationships: Ellie Bishop/Nick Torres
Comments: 37
Kudos: 104





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

> So, I may have written this in just a week and I still can’t seem to stop. It’s gonna have two parts, but I have so many more ideas. I might explore this verse a bit more later on, but for now enjoy. 
> 
> I know it’s super cliché and all (I feel like I used a thousand high school tropes here), and it may be a bit over the top, but I loved writing it!
> 
> This is for day 4 of Ellick week (Ellick AU).
> 
> All mistakes are mine. I'm not a native speaker.

The last week of school before summer vacation was horrifying for Eleanor Bishop.

During her last days as a freshman, she was stuck in a classroom full of boys except for two other girls, Amanda and Jody. Her high school was doing a project week, something they had started doing a few years back when Ellie was still in middle school. Most of her classmates were excited for a week consisting of light work and fun stuff, but Ellie hated it. Their student body wasn’t exactly huge, and the number of projects offered therefore unsurprisingly limited. Apart from numerous sport courses, she was able to choose between cooking courses and one engineering and design course and since her mother basically forbid her from cooking alone at home, she had chosen the latter. 

Under the slogan ‘Makers gonna make’, their teacher Mr. Albert was encouraging them to build stuff with old junk they had gotten from the local junkyard in the beginning of the week. She was teamed with Amanda, Jody, Lucas, and Simon, and they were trying to build their own microscope. Amanda and Lucas loved biology and had teamed up quickly on the first day while Jody, Simon, and herself were forced to join them by their teacher’s request.

On Wednesday around mid-day, when they were dismissed for lunch, Ellie found herself standing alone in front of the lunch display in the cafeteria, her tray sitting in front of her as she waited in line. The rest of her group had separated from her once they reached the cafeteria, not wanting to sit with her. While the four of them were also counted among the nerd group of her school—just like her—the rest of the students hardly bullied them. Unfortunately, Ellie was rarely left alone.

“Well, well, well. Look who’s here. Scarecrow found a new colored flannel for this week,” Hope called across the cafeteria and her entourage started to laugh loudly at her joke.

There was that name again. Scarecrow.

“Did your father clear out his closet again, Scarecrow?” Linda called out to her from next to Hope.

Ellie didn’t look up as she grabbed her lunch tray, briefly letting her gaze swipe across the room for an empty table. She spotted a few empty ones in the back of the room, quickly starting to walk towards them. Ignoring Hope and Linda was usually her go-to method for their bullying and it worked most of the time. Just not today.

“We’re talking to you, Bishop,” Hope sneered, appearing in front of her. As Ellie looked up, she saw Linda standing next to her, her arms crossed.

“Well, I’m not talking to you, so excuse me,” Ellie huffed, trying to step past them, but the girls were quicker, moving into the same direction.

“That’s rude, Scarecrow. You’ll never fit in with the rest, if you behave like this,” Hope scoffed, stepping closer to her. “Your brother is only here for another year before he leaves, so you might wanna get on our good side before that.”

Heat rose to her cheeks, and she felt her whole body tense up. “I don’t have to do anything. Least of all listening to you telling me what to do. I’ve got better things to do than take a million photos with you dense people.”

“Maybe if you would, you could learn a thing or two about style. My grandmother dresses better than you,” Linda countered laughing, tossing her long, brown hair over her shoulder. Hope joined in, raising her nose a little while doing it. Her perfect white teeth were shining brightly in contrast to her red lips as she winked at her friend.

By now, Ellie was fuming and without thinking about her next words, she exploded, “Maybe you should eat some of your makeup, so you can be pretty on the inside too!”

Hope’s and Linda’s laughing stopped, their eyes widening. The whole room had gone quiet, hearing Ellie’s outburst. The young Bishop swallowed hard, keeping her gaze fixed on the girls in front of her. She couldn’t back down now, she needed to stand her ground.

Hope and Linda wordlessly looked at each other, their eyes communicating in silence. As Hope faced her again, Ellie noticed her narrowed eyes. This was not good.

Without another word, Hope stepped closer to her, placing her hand under the tray Ellie was holding and pushing it forcefully towards her body. The tray slammed into her chest, and Ellie felt the hot lentil soup soaking her shirt while mixing with the cold yogurt, before slowly running down her front.

“Next time think more carefully about the words you’re saying to me,” Hope warned her, before turning on her heels and walking off with Linda. The two brunettes went back to sit with their friends.

Tears sprung to Ellie’s eyes, and she took a steadying breath. Letting the tray fall to the floor with a loud clang, she made a beeline out of the cafeteria.

Stomping across the empty hallway, Ellie let a few tears escape her eyes as she made her way to her locker. She felt humiliated. She could take the calling out, the mocking and the laughing from Hope and her friends, but the way Hope had made her look like a fool in front of the whole school had seriously hurt.

She leaned her head against her locker, taking a few more steading breaths. She needed to get a grip. High school was just two more years and then she probably never had to see any of those people again. Wiping away the tears from her cheeks, she squared her shoulders, opening her locker to look for a different shirt and hopefully a granola bar. There was no way in hell she would go back into the cafeteria again before summer vacation. It was just two more days anyway.

She found the granola bar pretty fast, but she had no luck with the shirt. Her dark red flannel shirt was ruined with the light-brown mix of lentil soup and yogurt smeared across it. As she pulled it off, she realized that even her black t-shirt underneath it was damp around her chest area.

She groaned. Her black t-shirt, which clung tightly to her body, emphasizing her soft curves, made her self-conscious enough, but the damp area around her chest was making it worse.

Even a year after her body had hit puberty almost two years after everyone else, she still wasn’t comfortable with its changes. Gone was the straight line she used to have, replaced by small breasts, a slender waist, and a round bottom. For so long, she had tried to hide the fact that she was lacking all those curves by wearing baggy clothes, but when it finally happened to her, she had still felt uncomfortable. She never had the urge to show off her body like the other girls at school, rather wanting to hide it from everyone, so her baggy clothes had stayed.

“That was a great comeback back there.” A voice from beside her startled her, interrupting her thoughts, and her grip on her locker door tightened. Dear God, she really just wanted to be left alone.

She stepped closer to her locker, hiding behind the small door as she carefully took a peek into the direction of the voice.

Nick Torres stood leaning against the lockers a few feet away from her. He was a junior, starting his senior year after summer. He was in the same grade as Robbie, her older brother, who had to repeat his junior year.

“I’m not in the mood for talking, Nick,” Ellie told him, hiding behind her locker again. It wasn’t like they had ever talked before.

“How did you come up with that so fast?” He asked her, ignoring her request.

Ellie huffed, gazing upwards and trying to come up with a way to get rid of him, but her mind blanked. Why was he talking to her anyway?

“What do you want, Nick?” She questioned, her body turned into her locker. She couldn’t face him right now. “If you wanna laugh at me too, then just do it quickly and leave again.”

He stayed quiet for a moment before she heard him shift closer, coming to stand behind her. It added to her discomfort, and she wrapped her arms around herself while she was mentally slapping herself for not having a spare shirt at school.

“You ran out of there pretty quick, and you know Robbie’s not on campus today, so I thought I might check up on you,” he offered in a calm voice.

To others his gesture might be considered and gracious, but it just made her anger flare up again. Of course, his brother had instructed his goons to look after her. Damn that boy. She didn’t need protection.

“Did Robbie put you up to this? I swear to god, he’ll pay for this,” she fumed, turning around to face Nick.

His arms were crossed in front of him, and he had his head tilted to the side. “No, he didn’t put me up to anything.” He paused, wrinkling his forehead. “I can see though how that might be your first thought. He tends to be overly protective of you.”

“Well, I don’t need his protection. It doesn’t do me any good.” She countered as she felt his gaze swipe over her body, before coming to rest on her face again.

“Then what do you need right now?”

She pulled her arms tighter around herself, sighing. He might actually just want to help her. He seemed honest enough. Her mind went over a million different scenarios of how Hope and Linda might have put him up to this, but then again, she never saw Nick interact with them much. And he was one of Robbie’s friends. Or at least, he was part of his friends’ group. He wouldn’t be doing anything to his friend’s little sister, right?

Ellie took a deep breath, swallowing her insecurities, before asking, “You don’t happen to have another shirt?”

\------

For the last two days of school, Ellie had kept a low profile, avoiding every single place where Hope and her group could have possibly run across her. Suddenly, project week hadn’t been such a bad thing anymore.

Every single student in their school had heard or seen her little accident as they liked to call it, and of course Robbie had found out too. Someone must have texted him right away, because later that day, he had found her in her bedroom after his field trip. She had been curled up in her bed, watching ‘The Duff’, feeling like it reflected her life to a certain point. Minus the boy who liked her because there was no boy that liked her. Duh.

Robbie had crawled in with her, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her tightly. He hadn’t said much, just watching the movie with her. After they had finished it, he had promised her that he wouldn’t let her out of his sight for the remaining days of school.

While he wasn’t the brother who would physically hurt anybody that bullied her, he still had enough sway in the school to protect her with just his words. He wasn’t the quarterback or even the most popular guy in school, but he was part of the football and baseball team and apparently that meant enough.

Ellie loved her relationship with him. While she had always been the closest to George, she had come to rely on Robbie a little more after George and then also John left for college. They both went to Oklahoma State University, which was only an hour from their hometown, Hinton. Both George and John were both fiercely protective of her, almost beating up everyone who so much as looked at her the wrong way. Robbie was also protective, showing it differently than his two older brothers. He usually let her fight for herself first, only coming to her rescue if she really needed it, which didn’t happen too often.

Hope and Linda would have never had the guts to pull such a stunt, if Robbie would have been present that day. Usually, they just mocked her with words, and while her brother had interrupted them once, telling them to let it go, it hadn’t exactly stopped them from doing so again. Most of the time, Ellie was immune to their bad-mouthing, just not that day.

Ellie knew her big brother blamed himself for her misery, so she had assured him that she was fine, and the other girls were just too intimidated by her smarts to leave her alone. She actually was best of her class, but it didn’t help her in any way.

“Who’s the shirt from?” Robbie had asked her as they sat opposite of each other on her bed, eating a pack of sour patch. He had tugged gently at the collar of the plain, dark blue shirt.

“Uh, Nick Torres,” she had answered him, chewing on one of the candies, not looking over to him. Nick actually had another shirt for her, and while it had made her feel a little more comfortable, it had also felt weird to wear some guy’s shirt.

Her brother had studied her for a minute, before nodding softly. “I gotta thank him for looking out for you then.”

Ellie had given him a pointed look at his comment, pursing her lips. That was exactly what she didn’t want to happen, but Robbie had just laughed it off, telling her to calm down.

Over the next week, Robbie had kept his promise, spending more time with her. Even after school had ended and their summer vacation had started. It was nice, but it also meant that he forced her along wherever he went.

Today, he dragged her to a party from one of his friends that had just graduated. Daniel Thompson was one of the few rich kids in Hinton, and his parents owned a gigantic house at the outskirts of town. His parents were on a trip somewhere Ellie couldn’t remember, and their son was using his parents-free time to throw the class of 2010 a huge graduation party.

She barely knew anyone at the party, sticking to Robbie for most of the time. The temperature had risen again and even though it was only mid-May, it almost wasn’t bearable to be outside anymore. The party had started around five in the afternoon, and most of the guests had stayed in the pool for quite a while, but as it got chillier in the evening most of the party had moved inside.

Ellie had used the opportunity to finally put her feet in the pool, sitting on the edge with her back to the windows. Robbie was somewhere inside, trying to enjoy the last few weeks with his friends. He had repeated his junior year this past school year, and while it was uncommon, it helped him a great deal. He got more responsible over the year, and Ellie had no doubt in her mind that his GPA was gonna be better than 3.0, something he definitely wouldn’t have managed without him repeating a class.

Gently moving her feet in the water, Ellie adjusted her dress over her knees. She had trouble finding something to wear to this party as jeans were just not an option anymore. It was too hot, and she would have just stuck out at the party. She opted for a light blue dress that had short sleeves and fell straight down her body, ending just below her knees. She had actually put on her bikini, just in case she decided to take a swim, but her insecurities hadn’t let her.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Ellie flinched at the deep voice, turning her head around to see Nick standing behind her, his hands stuffed into the front pockets of his white-blue striped swim shorts.

“Are you following me?” Ellie frowned.

Nick chuckled, crossing the distance between them and sitting down next to her. One of his feet went into the pool while he bent his other leg, wrapping his arms around it. “I don’t know, am I?”

“You’ve never talked to me before and this is the second time you’ve done so in the last week. Can’t blame me for finding that a little weird,” Ellie replied, shifting just a little away from him.

Nick shrugged. “I saw you sitting out here by yourself, and I thought it’d be nice to have some company.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Robbie didn’t talk you into this, right?

He raised his hands in front of himself. “Contrary to your belief, I hardly do what other people tell me to do. And Bishop isn’t exactly the kind of guy who tells his friends what to do. Least of all to look after his little sister.”

Ellie kept quiet, reaching for the golden necklace around her neck, starting to play with the small pendant. She wasn’t sure about Nick and his intentions. She hadn’t exactly given much thought to him after last week. He had been nice to her and there was no evidence for an ulterior motive. If he had one, he would have acted at school.

“Thanks again for giving me your shirt,” Ellie began, looking over to him. “I’ll get it back to you next time you’re over at Robbie’s.”

He smiled at her, waving her off. “Nah, it was nothing and don’t worry about giving it back. I hardly wear it anymore.”

Her lips tucked upwards, and she averted her gaze back onto her thighs. She wasn’t sure what to say next. She hardly ever talked to other people her age, let alone boys.

“Can I ask you a question?” Nick piped up from beside her, waiting a second for her to tell him off, but she didn’t. “Why are they calling you ‘Scarecrow’?”

Ellie’s head shot up, and she huffed. “Out of all the questions you could have asked, you choose this one?” 

“You don’t have to answer, if you don’t want to.” He loosened his arms around his legs, just resting his right forearm on his knee as he added, “But I don’t actually know why they do.”

Did he live under a rock? Everyone knew her nickname, and she was quite sure they also knew where it came from. Why didn’t he? Was he frigging blind?

“Have you like looked at me at all?” She asked confused, glancing over to him.

He tilted his head, mustering her with creased brows. He let his gaze swipe over her entire body, starting at her thighs and slowly moving up her body until he reached her face.

His intense gaze made her squirm in her seat and she reached up, grabbing a strand of hair between her fingers, twisting it around.

“I honestly don’t know what I’m supposed to see here,” he confessed, leaning back and mustering her backside. “Do you have like a third eye or something?”

A burst of laughter escaped her, and she shook her head, letting go of the strand of hair in the process. He joined into her laughing, his smile wide, reaching his eyes and for the first time, Ellie felt herself enjoy her talk with Nick.

“No, Nick. It’s the way I look,” she answered, her voice almost scolding him like a little child who had just said something silly. “You know with the straw-like hair, the baggy jeans or overalls and the flannel shirts. I literally look like a scarecrow.”

His laughing stopped, and he turned serious, his eyes fixed on her. “You know that’s not true, right?”

She stayed quiet, her smile disappearing from her face. Her hands nervously played with the hem of her dress as she was unable to stop them from moving. “I don’t care what they think of me,” she shrugged. “It’s just two more years of school and then I probably don’t have to see them anymore.”

“You don’t look like a scarecrow, Ellie.” He paused, letting his other foot into the water as he put his hands onto the edge of the concrete outline of the pool, leaning a little forward. “I like your hair. It looks like you’ve spent all day at the beach. It’s all wavy and sun-kissed.”

Warmth spread through her entire body and she felt her blood rush to her cheeks. Did he just compliment her? She averted her head, her hair framing her face, hopefully hiding her blush. He didn’t need to see that.

“Who came up with that name anyway?” He asked irritated. “Maybe someone should show that person a picture of an actual scarecrow.”

Ellie laughed softly, her discomfort at his compliment vanishing. “You know Thomas Buckner from my grade? He started it last year after summer vacation was over. Apparently, I’m not girly enough for him.”

Nick huffed, shaking his head. “Well, he’s a dick.”

“Yeah, remember how he came back from Christmas break with two broken fingers, claiming that it happened during a hockey session? It was actually George and John who broke his fingers.”

Nick’s eyes widened. “They did not.”

“Yes, they did. They are ruthless when it comes to their little sister,” she chuckled, before surprising herself as she added, “Don’t get on their bad side, if you don’t wanna end up with broken bones or loose a limp.”

“I don’t plan to do that,” he answered easily, bumping his shoulder into hers.

As Ellie realized her words, the red color return to her cheeks, and she felt her pulse quickening. Did she really just say that? And did he really just bump their shoulders, kind of promising her to never upset her brothers? He would never have a reason for upsetting them in the first place, right? A million thoughts were running through her mind and she stared onto the still water of the pool.

“I’m gonna go back inside,” Nick interrupted her silence, standing up. “It was nice talking to you, Ellie Bishop. I hope we’ll do it again soon.”

She dared herself to lift her eyes up to him, seeing his soft smile aimed directly at her as he was slowly backing away from her towards the house. When he reached the door, he nodded his head shortly before turning around and heading inside.

Her head snapped back to the pool, and she took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing mind and heart. What on earth did just happen?

\------

Summer progressed quickly, and Ellie all but forgot about Nick Torres.

In the end of May, her father took her camping for a week in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. It was a tradition that they had started when Ellie was just 7 years old. Each year they picked a new place, never going to the same place twice.

Being around her father was easy. He was a quiet man who worked hard for his family. He was the co-owner of a construction company in their town, which specialized in commercial construction. It was a small company with just about 20 people working under her father, but it had an excellent reputation and there hardly wasn’t a time where they didn’t have a contract. It also entailed that he worked a lot, missing dinner quite a few times.

In mid-June, the wheat harvest started in Oklahoma and the house was empty for most of the day. Her family owned a farm, but apart from a dozen chickens, they had rented all the fields belonging to their property out to neighboring farmers after her father became the co-owner of the construction business. All three of her brothers helped their neighbors with bringing in the harvest though, earning themselves some easy money during summer vacation. Her mother worked part-time in her father’s company, helping with the paperwork three days a week, meaning Ellie had the house to herself.

In the late afternoon, when the sun slowly began to lower, she decided to go out for a ride to the lake at the border of their property. When her parents decided to stop the farming business, they had kept some of their animals, leaving them with a few sheep, goats, and two horses. One of the horses was just a foal, growing up together with Ellie, and when she was younger, her parents had trouble getting her away from the young mare. Ellie had learned to ride on Flora, breaking her in at the same time. As she started middle school and then high school, she was able to spend less time with her, but whenever she could, she would take her out for a ride.

After swimming in the lake and playing with Flora in the shallow water, Ellie found herself sitting on her mare’s bare back again, leaning back so that her upper body rested on the horse’s croup. Her hands were clasped behind her head as the sun shone low in the sky. Ellie had closed her eyes, exhaling deeply. Her bikini was still wet, cooling her down just enough to make the setting sun endurable. The water had refreshed her, and it was exactly what she needed after a day full of garden chores her mother had given her.

Her palomino mare was grassing near the lake, her soft munching the only sound heard next to a few birds chirping. The peace and quiet by the lake were something Ellie loved most about their farm. It was her safe space, especially on days when school was just a little too much. Out here, her mind was able to run free, enjoying the beauty of nature instead of the harsh words of her classmates.

Ellie felt herself drift off as Flora shifted her weight forwards, taking a small step, before continuing to graze. Tiredness washed over her, and she let herself scum to the heaviness that spread through her body.

Just a few moments before she could fully fall asleep, a loud yell and an answering roar rang through the air, and seconds later, Ellie flew through the air, before painfully landing on the rocky ground close to the lake.

She groaned, her left side aching as she heard the sound of Flora’s hoofs thudding away from her. She loved that mare to pieces, but she got spooked so easily.

“Fuck, Ellie, are you ok?” A familiar voice called out to her, and she pushed herself onto her forearms, lifting her head from the ground and into the direction of the voice.

Great. Nick Torres and a bunch of other classmates from Robbie were standing in front of her, all staring at her.

She pushed herself into a sitting position, moving her almost dry hair out of her face. Her left thigh and knee were burning as well as her left lower arm, feeling moist.

“Ellie, I’m so sorry, we didn’t think anybody was here. Robbie said to just go ahead while he checks on you before coming too,” Nick added, crouching down in front of her and blocking her view at the other four boys standing behind him.

He was once again wearing swim shorts and a t-shirt, his skin looking sweaty while a thin layer of dust covered it. His forehead was wrinkled, and his hand reached out to her arm, not touching her though.

“Shit, you’re bleeding.”

Looking down at her body, she followed his gaze and inspected the damage. She groaned, seeing the long scrapes on her skin. A mix of blood and dirt had accumulated in the damaged parts and Ellie knew it was gonna be a couple of days before that was gonna stop stinging.

“Can you hear me, Ellie? Do you want me to get Robbie or your mom?” Nick asked again, his hand reaching out to her face, and it pulled Ellie out of her thoughts.

Before he could touch her, she blocked his hand, shaking her head. “I’m fine. It’s just some damaged skin.” She pushed herself up onto her feet, her knee aching in the process and she groaned in pain when she couldn’t get her back straight.

“You’re not fine. You just flew off a horse,” Nick exclaimed, grabbing her right arm as she finally straightened up. She felt his heavy gaze on her as she looked up to his face, seeing his eyes swipe over her body, his pupils blown wide.

It took her a second longer to realize that she was standing in front of him half-naked, just wearing her light blue bikini and she cursed herself. She also became aware of the four other boys standing behind him, staring at her too. Color rose to her cheeks, and she crossed her arms in front of her body. 

“I’m fine, Nick. I’ll just walk home,” she tried again, averting her gaze and shifting from one foot to the other. She felt incredibly exposed as nobody had really seen her without her baggy clothes until now. In that moment, she wished the ground would open and swallow her alive.

“Here, take this,” he whispered softly, taking off his t-shirt and pulling it over her head before she could protest.

On autopilot, Ellie moved her arms through the holes and let the shirt cascade down her body. It ended mid-thigh, covering her body from everyone’s view. She released the air out of her lungs, her shoulders slacking. It felt much better. Her hands moved up to pull her hair out of the shirt and as she moved, a unique smell filled her nostrils. It almost knocked her off her feet again, and she grabbed Nick’s arm to steady herself. The shirt smelled just like Nick.

“Alright, I’ll walk you home. There is no way you’re going alone. Your brother would kill me.” He put his arm around her waist, pulling her firmly into his side, turning them around. “Should someone go looking for your horse?”

Her body tingled as he touched her, and her senses went into overdrive. She could feel the stinging of her cuts anymore. Nick’s smell clouded her mind and mixed with the heat radiating from his body, she suddenly felt dizzy. His hand on her hip felt warm through his shirt, and her whole right side was pressed so tightly against him that she could almost feel his sweat through the shirt. As her body reacted to him, she could hardly think straight anymore.

They started to move, and Nick squeezed her side gently. “Ellie?”

“Uh, what did you say?” She spluttered, her arm wrapping around Nick’s back as it was awkwardly hanging between them. Her hand came to rest on his waist, his naked and very sweaty waist. She could feel his muscles move with every step and she felt herself slip into oblivion again at the feeling of his hot skin, but she stopped herself, trying to redirect her focus back onto the pain in her left side. 

“Should somebody go looking for your horse?” He repeated his question.

“No, she probably just ran back home. She doesn’t really have anywhere else to go.”

Nick nodded, turning his head back to his friends and mouthing something to them that she couldn’t make out.

She felt so stupid. She should have known better than to fall asleep on Flora. It was just dumb and irresponsible. She was lucky she didn’t break anything. Or worse, Flora accidentally kicking her after she fell. She had always been lucky so far, but she shouldn’t have been so careless.

“Ellie!” Robbie’s voice called out to her loudly as he came running towards them, leading Flora beside him. “What the hell happened?” He was slightly out of breath as he mustered her, his gaze stopping on her legs. “Damn it, Ellie. Did she throw you off again?”

Flora pranced around beside him, nervously throwing her head up and down at his loud voice.

“Calm down, Robbie. She just got spooked by your wacky group of friends,” she scoffed, stepping away from Nick who started to shift around next to her.

“What the fuck did you do?” Robbie turned his anger onto Nick. “That’s my little sister!”

Nick held up his hands, but before he could answer, Ellie grabbed the reins out of her brother’s hands, shoving him away from Flora. “Don’t yell at him! He didn’t do anything. They were just a little loud and Flora got spooked. I wasn’t paying enough attention. It was my own fault.”

“Mom’s gonna kill me, if she sees you like this,” Robbie muttered, framing her face in his hands and making her look at him. “Are you ok? Did you break anything?”

She shook her head, and a few moments later, he was hugging her tightly, making her groan in pain again. Her left side did really hurt.

“You said you were fine?” Robbie scolded her, letting go of her.

“I am fine. Just help me up onto her again,” she muttered, pointing back to the Palomino.

“You’re not getting on that horse again, Eleanor Bishop. She just tossed you off!”

“Shut up, Robbie. She didn’t do it on purpose, and I won’t walk all this way home,” she huffed, turning around to the horse and bending her left leg. Mounting Flora would hurt like hell, but walking all the way would definitely be worse. “Help me up, Robbie.”

“I’m not gonna do that. I’ll walk you home.”

Ellie closed her eyes, taking a slow breath before she released it again. She was about done with this day. Turning to Nick, she tilted her head to the side, “Help me up, please.”

His eyes widened, and he glanced at Robbie who just huffed, crossing his arms in front of him. Ellie fixed Nick with a pointed look and he slowly moved forward, coming to a halt behind her. He grabbed her leg and as she bent her knees to build up her momentum, he pushed her up and she lifted her leg over Flora’s back.

Her entire body ached at the sudden movement and she groaned in pain again, hunching forward onto Flora’s neck.

Nick grabbed her calf, giving it a soft squeeze. “You good?”

“I’m fine,” she pressed out as she straightened up. She took up the reins, pressing her legs against Flora’s belly. “Let’s go, girl.” She smiled briefly at Nick again, before directing the mare to turn around.

“I’m coming with you,” Robbie declared, falling into step beside her. “You can start shoveling my grave, there is no way Mom’s gonna let me live through this,” her brother directed at Nick.

“Stop whining, Robbie. Nobody’s gonna get killed today.” Boys were such cry-babies sometimes. The only one who would get a talking to was herself. Her mom would try to forbid her from riding Flora, but that had never worked before.

She didn’t turn back to Nick, afraid that her thoughts would start to betray her. His scent still lingered in her nose and she could still feel the warm sensations in the places where he touched her. All these unknown feelings confused her, and she quickly shoved them down, locking them tightly away.

“Why on earth are you wearing Nick’s shirt?” Robbie piped up as they got closer to the farmhouse. “Please tell me you’re wearing something under this.”

\------

For the rest of her summer vacation, Ellie kept up the same routine every day. After the harvest was finished, Ellie had thought she would be able to spend more time with her brothers, but they were still busy. George, who had finished college this summer, was moving back to Hinton with his girlfriend Janet. The two of them were busy renovating their new apartment in town and before Ellie knew it, they had moved in, leaving her with one less brother at home. John, who finished his second year at college, was working for their father this summer, needing the extra money for spring break next year.

Robbie—bless his soul—was at least trying to make time for her every day. While he was still working for their neighbor, even after the harvest was finished, they tried to form a certain routine for their day. Having breakfast and dinner together was one of them, while they also started a new habit: running.

Ellie wasn’t the sporty type, but she did have a lot of energy and she was hardly ever able to put it to good use. A 4-mile run in the morning helped her restlessness, and it surprisingly also helped her focus a lot better. She decided to learn French this summer as her Spanish was almost fluent by now. Learning was easy for her; especially when she was eating in the meantime. Apart from food-associating, she effortlessly remembered almost everything she read. There was a reason for her being best of her class. 

Running became her thing with Robbie, until the day that Nick Torres showed up, joining them three weeks before the end of summer. The siblings had just reached the end of the driveway when Ellie saw him standing there, stretching.

She came to an abrupt halt, Robbie almost running into her. She turned around to her brother, leveling him with a stare.

He raised his hands in front of him. “Football practice is gonna start soon and we all need to start getting into shape again. It’s just Nick. You’ve talked to him before.”

“You could have still told me, Robbie,” she growled, pulling at her purple running top. It was a tight fit and barely moved at her attempt to pull it down. Her equally tight black running shorts also seemed like the worst clothing choice today. If she’d known they had company today, she would have chosen a different outfit. Something that covered more skin.

Robbie shook his head. “You need to stop being so insecure about your body, little sis. You’re fine.” He gave her shoulder a squeeze, before adding, “Besides, he has seen you in a lot less, remember?”

“Robbie!” She exclaimed, boxing his arm. His comment wasn’t helping.

Her brother smirked at her, turning away and bridging the distance to his friend. They clasped hands, hugging shortly.

“You coming, Ellie?” Her brother called out to her as Nick waved at her, sending her a soft smile.

She hadn’t seen him again after their little incident at the lake, but he still preoccupied her thoughts. Her mind wandered off to him daily, and it felt strange. Boys were never something she had given much thought to, but it was different with Nick. He popped up into her mind during the weirdest times. The other day, she was helping her mother cook, peeling potatoes, and all of a sudden she asked herself whether Nick liked mashed potatoes. One time she had caught herself thinking about his abs, and how they could possibly feel beneath her hands. The thought was wild, and she had quickly shut it down, putting that image out of her head.

Nick was her brother’s friend. He probably didn’t see her as anything than his friend’s little sister. He was just nice to her because of her connection to Robbie. There was no way he liked her any more than that. Who was she kidding?

But then her mind went back to the times she had interacted with him, remembering the concerned look on his face when she fell off Flora and his obvious urge to touch her face, or the way his pupils were blown wide upon seeing her in her bikini, before immediately sensing her discomfort and giving her his shirt. That didn’t seem like normal behavior for just a friend.

His smile, though, stuck with her the most. It always reached his eyes, lightening his entire face up. It was so genuine, directed completely at her that it made her heart race by just thinking about it.

“I’m done waiting, Ellie. Either you’re coming or not,” Robbie pulled her out of her thoughts, and she looked over to him just as he started to run down the street. Her gaze moved to Nick who smiled encouragingly at her, nodding his head into the direction Robbie went off to, and she felt her feet starting to move towards him without her approval.

Damn Nick Torres and his smile.

\------

Summer vacation ended too quickly for Ellie. The last few weeks rushed by and next thing she knew she was back at school in mid-August. Seeing her classmates again was tolerable. Most of them had seemed to forget about the little incident in the cafeteria, and even Hope and Linda left her alone for the most part. Hope had a new boyfriend who went to their neighboring high school the next town over, which seemed to give their group enough to talk about.

Then again, Ellie wasn’t giving them a reason to talk about her, forgoing her flannel shirts and baggy jeans for some long, wide shorts that reached her mid-thighs and some wide, high-cut tops that were tucked loosely into said shorts. She definitely didn’t look like a scarecrow anymore, but she was still far away from looking like every other girl in school—not that she personally wanted that.

It took her a few days to get used to her new outfits as they showed more leg, but she wasn’t sweating in them as much as in her long clothes and her classmates didn’t seem to care. Nobody looked at her differently and it eased her insecurities about her body just the tiniest bit.

Being at school also meant that she saw Nick again every day. During her last week of summer, Robbie and Nick had stopped going onto runs with her in the mornings due to the start of early morning football practice. She had gotten used to seeing him every day and found herself missing his presence. Now at school, she was able to see him again, even if she only saw him from afar. They didn’t interact at all, which made her a little sad, adding to her theory that she would never be anything than Robbie’s little sister to him.

Ellie had also settled into the thought that she might have developed a crush on the Latino boy. It was the first time she had crushed on anybody and it made her nervous. She couldn’t understand the sudden urge to see him every day or to see his soft smile directed at her. She felt like her body, her heart and her mind betrayed her when it came to Nick Torres and she found herself doing odd things.

Like going to a football game in the beginning of September. While all her brothers had played for their school team, Ellie rarely went to their games. She usually just caught the last game of the season, it often being the most important one anyway. Her brothers didn’t mind, knowing that she was supportive of their playing.

It was Friday night, and most of her school had come to the game. Their team had a home game, and the players were currently warming up. As she stood in front of the bleachers, she let her gaze swipe over the field, looking for Robbie first, then for Nick. They were in full gear, totally concentrated on their drills.

She swallowed, letting her gaze swipe over the bleachers. They seemed crowded, but she spotted an almost empty row in the back. That would work.

She was about to climb up the stairs, when a high-pitched voice called out to her, “Scarecrow, fancy seeing you here.”

Ellie closed her eyes, complementing on just ignoring her and taking her seat, but she turned around instead, facing Hope and of course also Linda. “Don’t you have something better to do like warming up with the cheerleaders?” Ellie addressed her, nodding her head to the cheer squad a few feet away.

“You know I always find time to talk to you, Scarecrow,” Hope said, crossing her arms in front of her. “Linda and I were just talking about you. We miss your flannel shirts.” She looked at her innocently, blinking a few times.

“Hope’s right. We might have to come up with a new name for you,” Linda added, shaking her head slowly. “The things you make us do.” 

A lump formed in Ellie’s throat. She should have never come to this game. There was a good reason why she rarely did before. It was just another Hope and Linda show. Another place where they could bully and mock her. She shifted, her hands balling to fists. She needed to get a grip. Letting them win again, was not optional.

“Your new outfit does nothing for you, Scarecrow. You look like a dainty little girl,” Hope mocked her, crossing her arms in front of her body. “I mean look at you, you couldn’t even dress up for your own school’s football game.”

Hope and Linda started laughing, their high ponytails swinging from side to side. They had big red bows in their hair, matching their red cheerleader uniforms which highlighted their nicely shaped bodies. Their cheekbones had a hint of glitter smeared across them, making them stick out. They looked gorgeous, and suddenly Ellie felt incredibly out of place.

Biting her lip, she looked past them, trying to come up with an exit strategy, but a warm hand on her back stopped her from moving.

“Hey ladies, what are you up to?” Nick’s voice filled her ears, and she froze as he let his hand stroke down her back slowly as he stopped next to her.

That was really all she needed! Out of the corner of her eye, she recognized his sweaty face, his hair looking tousled from his helmet. She felt the urge to run her hands through it, but she quickly averted her gaze onto her shoes instead.

“Nick, how nice to see you!” Linda greeted him in a high voice, looking up to him from under her long lashes. “I hope you guys win today! We’ll cheer extra loud just for you.”

“Thanks, Linda,” Nick said dismissively, turning his attention back to Ellie. “What were you guys talking about?”

Ellie lifted her eyes up to Nick, meeting his gaze, but before she could answer, Linda interrupted her, “We were just telling Ellie here that she should really get into the school spirit a little more. She isn’t even wearing the right colors.”

Ellie’s lips pressed into a tight line and she briefly glimpsed at Linda who was still beaming up at Nick. If Ellie didn’t know better, she would guess that the girl was interested in Nick. Bless Nick though, who didn’t give her the time of the day, almost ignoring her completely.

His hand landed on Ellie’s back again, and he smiled softly at her. “Wait here a second, I’ll be right back.” He walked away from them and Ellie was once again left alone with the other two girls.

As Hope huffed loudly, Ellie turned her attention back to her. The brunette had crossed her arms in front of her body, shaking her head with pursed lips. “Let’s not kid ourselves, Scarecrow. Nick Torres is way out of your league. What could he possibly want with someone like you?”

“You can literally offer him nothing,” Linda added, staring her down with narrowed eyes. “You better back off, Scarecrow. This will only end up with you heartbroken and hurt.” She paused, raising her chin. “And we don’t want that, right?”

Ellie’s stomach roiled, and her throat felt dry. She was at a loss of words, and this was escalating quickly. Her chest felt tight, and she lifted a hand up to her chest, searching for her necklace, finding the pendant, and clutching it between her fingers. She tried to take small, steady breaths as she felt like crying. But she would not cry in front of them. She simply couldn’t give them the satisfaction.

Just before the girls could open their mouths again, Nick came jogging back up to them, stopping in front of her and shielding her from her classmates.

“This is one of my training jerseys. It’s gonna be huge on you and it has my name on it, not Robbie’s, but at least it’s the right color,” he informed her as he pulled the shirt over her head, helping her move her arms through the short sleeves.

The shirt fell down to her mid-thighs, stopping just an inch before the end of her shorts. The short sleeves were reaching her elbows, and she must have looked ridiculous.

Before she could thank Nick, his hand reached for her face, cupping her left cheek gently as he took out his eye black stick, smearing it under her right eye, before switching hands and repeating the process on her other side.

“There you go. Now you look like everybody else here,” he stepped back a little, mustering her with a soft smile.

Ellie stared up to him, her lips parted, and she felt an electric jolt zip through her body as he openly looked back at her. His lips were tucked up on one side into a crooked smile, and he winked at her.

Ellie stopped breathing completely, her heart racing.

“Hey Nick, I think I need some eye black too. Would you mind helping me out?” Linda’s voice interrupted their brief staring match.

Nick partially turned his body towards the two girls, his head turning in their direction. “No, thank you. You have too much glitter on your face.”

His comment pulled her out of her trance, and she glanced past Nick, not a moment too soon to see Hope’s angry face as she threw Nick a dirty look, pulling a pouting Linda away from them.

Nick turned back to her, touching her upper arm lightly. “You ok? You looked like you needed a little help.”

Ellie’s mind was racing, replaying the last few minutes in her head repeatedly. Swallowing, she nodded faintly. “I’m fine.”

“Well, you should take a seat. The game’s gonna start soon,” he told her, nodding his head in the direction of the bleachers. “I’m glad you’re here, Ellie. It’s nice seeing you.”

Her eyes shot up to his, her pulse quickening again. He smiled at her with his special smile that made her knees wobbly. Damn that smile. One of these days, she was gonna get a heart attack.

She was fumbling for words as Robbie jogged up to them, mustering her with creased eyebrows. “Are you wearing Nick’s shirt again, Ellie?” He stepped closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, glancing over her back. “What are you doing here anyway? You never come to any of my games.”

How right he was. Coming to this game had been her worst idea so far. It was a mistake she would not repeat. But as the saying goes, you never make the same mistake twice!

Robbie’s presence grounded her, slowing her heart down and helping her mind clear up. There was just something about her brothers that got her real again.

“Nice to see you too, Robert,” she emphasized his name, crossing her arms in front of her. “I think the game is about to start, so I will take my seat now.” She locked eyes with her brother for a second, before she turned around, showing him her back with Nick’s name on it.

Torres. She wasn’t a Torres, and she would probably never be a Torres, but she had to take that victory over Linda and Hope today.

“Man, what are you doing? That’s my little sister,” Ellie heard Robbie’s voice and she didn’t dare to turn around, only slowing her steps to eavesdrop on their conversation.

“I was being nice. Hope and Linda were all over her again. She looked like she needed a little help,” Nick said nonchalantly.

“So, you gave her your jersey?” Robbie questioned.

“Calm down, Robbie. No reason to get your knickers in a twist, I was _just_ being nice to her.”

“You better be! She’s my little sister and _that_ ,” he paused, and Ellie forced herself to take another step to not look around as Robbie continued, “is _not_ gonna happen.”

Suddenly afraid of Nick’s answer, Ellie sped up the bleachers. As she sat down in the last row, her eyes landed on the two boys again. They were walking towards the rest of the team that was standing at the side of the field.

Robbie had one of his hands wrapped around the back of Nick’s neck, shaking him softly as they shared a laugh. When her brother lowered his hand again, the two of them fist bumped, and Ellie found herself curious again.

Shifting in her seat, she threw her head back, groaning quietly. She should have just waited for his answer instead of running away like a coward. At least then she would have known where she stood with him.

The blow of the whistle shrilled through the air, and Ellie took a deep breath, trying to clear her mind of all things Nick Torres, but as the wind blew past her, jolting the jersey she was wearing, her thoughts got clouded by him again.


	2. Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to everyone who read this story. I plan to write at least one or two follow ups for this. This verse is just too fun to write! If anyone has prompts, you can send them my way on tumblr (@ellieandnick) and I’ll try to incorporate them. 
> 
> For now, enjoy some more innocent Ellie.

Even a week after the football game, Ellie was still replaying the events of the game in her head. Their team had won, and the crowd had gone bonkers. Ellie had used the loud celebration to quietly disappear as she wasn’t in the mood to have another encounter with Hope and Linda. She also wasn’t ready to face Nick again. He had been too busy celebrating with the team anyway, and she decided that she could just return his jersey later that week. It wasn’t like she had given him back his other two shirts yet, shamelessly using them as sleep shirts.

In the end, she had chickened out of giving the shirt back in person. She couldn’t even get herself to ask Robbie to return it, smuggling it into his gym bag and hoping he would find it and give it back to Nick for her.

On Wednesday, as she was standing by her locker to switch a few books for her classes after lunch, Robbie appeared next to her.

“I’m not your carrier pigeon, Ell,” Robbie whispered in her ear as he leaned closer to her. “If you can wear Nick’s shirts, you should have the guts to return them in person.”

Color rose to her cheeks, and she bit her lip, not daring to gaze up to her brother. He had caught her red-handed and for the first time, she couldn’t think of a comeback to get her out of this situation.

“Is there something we should talk about, Ellie?” Her brother asked, leaning against the locker beside her. “I personally think you’re way too young to be interested in boys, but if you need to talk about—”

She rammed her elbow into his side, shutting him up before he could say anything else.

“Ow, that hurt, Ellie,” Robbie groaned, hunching forward as he rubbed his side.

“I’m not talking with you about this kind of stuff,” she hissed, crossing her arms in front of her. “And I’ll be sixteen in two months and I don’t think I need to remind you of the number of girlfriends you already had at that age.” She leveled him with a stare.

“That is totally different. I’m not a girl,” he tried to excuse himself, lifting his hands up in front of him.

“You better think about your next words very carefully, Robert James Bishop!” She threatened him, pushing his hands away. “Just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean that I’m inferior to you in any way!”

“I didn’t mean it like that, Ellie. Come on, you know that,” he appeased her, grabbing her arm, and squeezing it gently. “You’re way smarter than George, John, and I combined, and we all know that you’re gonna be the one who’s gonna make it out of this tiny town.”

“Don’t schmooze me, Robbie.” She paused, looking up to him and meeting his brown eyes. Sighing, she caved at his look, “Just stop patronizing me. I’m not a little girl anymore.”

“Trust me, I know, Ellie, but you’ll always be my little sister. All this protectiveness comes with the title.” He shrugged as the bell rang. Readjusted the strap of his backpack over his shoulder, he backed away from her. “Oh, and just because I’m not a girl doesn’t mean you can’t come to me to talk about boys.” He winked at her, before turning around and disappearing down the hallway.

Taking a steadying breath, Ellie grabbed her books out of her locker. Closing the door, she hurried down the hallway to her next class. Was her crush on Nick this obvious? Her brother asking her about it was a little embarrassing and something that hopefully never happened again. She needed to get a grip on herself. This was getting out of hand.

\------

For some reason, Ellie had the rare talent to put herself into situations where the entire school was able to witness her misery.

After summer vacation, Ellie had joined the school’s cross-country team. She enjoyed running and taking some extracurricular activities had never hurt. Adding to that, most of her team didn’t really care about her joining as they were more focused on running and getting better. It was a nice change. They were training each Tuesday and Thursday, alternating between training at school and running out in the field. Today, her team was running laps around the track of the football field, working on their conditioning. Unfortunately for her, so was the cheerleading team.

She was sweating like a pig as she started her fifth lap, glancing at her fitness tracker to check her pulse when a loud shrill rang through the air. Football practice had started as well, and the boys were currently walking towards the tracks too.

This was just her luck. She spotted Nick with his red shorts and white muscle shirt among the other guys as they started running. There was half a track of distance between them, so Ellie kept track of their tempo to keep that distance. She really didn’t need the entire football team running directly behind her.

She was so focused on retaining the distance between the football team and herself that she didn’t realize she had caught up to Hope and Linda. The girls were now directly running in front of her, and their giggling was the only thing that prevented her from crashing into them.

Ellie silently groaned, slowing down. Cross-country was supposed to be her thing, but somehow she was still surrounded by everyone she wanted to avoid.

Peeking over her shoulder, she saw the football team gaining ground on her. Passing Hope and Linda would get her away from the group of teenaged boys. If they kept running so close behind her, at least one of them would probably ogle her and that would be worse than a brief mocking of the cheerleaders. At least as long as it stayed brief.

Swallowing down her hesitation, Ellie moved further right on the tracks to pass the girls, speeding up again, but the girls just moved with her. Just as she was trying to pass them, Hope stopped, turning to the side and moving her leg out back while squatting down. To an unknown person, she looked like she was just stretching—granted she was still standing in the middle of the track—but Ellie knew she had done this on purpose.

Unable to stop, the young Bishop tripped over the brunette’s leg. Out of reflex, she held her hands out in front of her, the balls of her hand taking the brunt as she landed hard on the tracks.

It still hurt like shit as the rest of her body hit the ground. She could feel the skin on her knees scraping off through her three-quarter running tights as the air was knocked out of her lungs.

Groaning, she rolled onto her back, desperately sucking in some air. The balls of her hands were stinging painfully, and she could feel the moisture accumulating on the broken tissue. Turning her hands palms up, she inspected the damage. Granted, she had worse but there was still blood trickling slowly out of the wounds, mixed with the gravel from the track.

“Oops, I didn’t see you there, Scarecrow,” Hope piped up innocently next to her. “You should really watch where you’re going.”

Anger rose up in her at Hope’s mocking voice and Ellie pushed her upper body up into a sitting position. Looking around, she saw the entire football team standing just a few feet away from her. Robbie was already walking towards her and she could see Nick stepping forward as well when two feet clad in white Nikes appeared next to her.

“What the actual fuck was that?” An energetic voice barked, and Ellie’s eyes followed the smooth, long legs up the other person’s body until she came into view with Hannah Abrahams’ face.

Hannah Abrahams had transferred to her high school just a week ago. Her parents had relocated from New York as her father started a new job in Hinton. Ellie had never interacted with her before, not sure if the girl wasn’t better preserved with Hope and her friends as she had immediately joined the cheerleaders.

“Oh Hannah, I don’t think you know Ellie here,” Hope smiled at the other girl, pointing down to her. “Ellie’s a bit of a klutz. She always finds a way to embarrass herself.”

Hope and Linda had tried cozying up to Hannah during the last few days, excited to have a big city girl in their class now. They both presumed that Hannah would just join their group, but they couldn’t have been further off. Hannah didn’t give them the time of the day, brushing them off every time the two girls asked her to join them. She did it in a friendly manner, coming up with plausible reasons every time, which seemed to only spur Hope and Linda on even more.

“Are you fucking kidding me? You idiotic bitch just tripped her up,” Hannah exclaimed, grabbing Ellie’s upper arm as she gently helped her up. “You better apologize or we’re gonna have a problem.”

Ellie’s mouth fell open as she raised herself up next to the tall, blonde girl. Her gaze flicked over to Hannah, seeing her blue eyes almost squeezed shut. The messy bun on her head was falling apart and the loose strands were gently moving in the wind, making her look wild. There was no doubt in Ellie’s mind that Hannah Abrahams was dead serious.

“Who do you think you are?” Hope snapped, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Nobody tells me what to do, and the least of all someone who just moved here last week. You don’t know the way of this school yet. Maybe Scarecrow should explain it to you.”

“She has a _name_ ,” Hannah growled as she stepped closer to Hope. “And _Ellie_ is still waiting for an apology.”

Hope laughed loudly, turning to Linda and nodding dismissively into Hannah’s direction. “Seems like the new girl is deaf.” The brunette turned her gaze back onto Hannah, eyeing her up and down. “Apparently, people from New York don’t know what’s good for them.”

“You’ll soon be laughing out of the other side of your face!” Hannah threatened her, eliminating the distance between Hope and her, their faces just inches away from each other. “You don’t know the first thing about people from New York, so shut your mouth and take a walk, before I’ll make you.”

For a second, the girls stared at each other silently and Ellie was afraid that one of them would actually throw a punch any second, but then Hope stepped back, turning to Linda.

“She isn’t worth our time,” Hope addressed her friend as she started to walk away from them, rolling her eyes while shaking her head.

As the two girls walked off, Hannah huffed before yelling after them, “Keep rolling your eyes, maybe you’ll find a brain back there, but I won’t get my hopes up!”

Neither of the girls turned around, walking off to the side of the field where more of their friends stood.

“Man, they get me all riled up. I thought girls like that only existed in big cities such as New York, but I guess I was wrong.” Hannah puffed out some air. “Please slap me if I ever become like her.”

“You’re not like I pictured you,” Ellie blurted out, coming out of her stare.

The other blonde smirked, winking at her. “Well, I don’t sugar coat shit. I’m not Willy Wonka.” Hannah pointed at Ellie’s hands that were still held up in front of her body. “We should take care of this otherwise it’s gonna get infected.”

Ellie looked down at her hands. The scrapes had stopped bleeding, but it still looked messy. She could also still feel the stinging of her knees where her tights were rubbing against the broken skin. Sighing, she shrugged. “I’ll just go to the bathroom real quick. I’ve had worse.”

“You do seem like you’re not one to easily cry. Come on, I’ll help you clean up.” Hannah laid a hand on her upper back, gently pushing her in the direction of their gym. “Why is the entire football team staring at us?” She asked in a hushed voice as they passed the team from a distance.

Following Hannah’s gaze, Ellie saw Robbie standing just a few feet away from them, halfway between his team and them. He had his hands on his hips, and a crease had formed on his forehead. He looked surprised as Ellie met his eyes. A small smile crept on her face, telling him she appreciated his concern but that she was fine and didn’t need his help.

Nodding, Robbie turned around, walking back to his team just in time for Ellie to see Nick’s concerned expression. He was standing in front of the team, his arms hanging loosely at his sides. He looked like he was ready to run over to her any second, but as Robbie came up to the team, he softly shook his head, taking his eyes off her.

Ellie sighed, briefly closing her eyes before focusing on Hannah again.

“That’s my big brother Robbie. He’s a little protective of me sometimes,” she explained.

Hannah hummed. “Well, I’m excited to learn more about you, Ellie Bishop.”

And just like that, Ellie had found a new friend.

\------

Having a friend was awesome.

Ellie had underestimated the magnitude of friendship. In school, she had someone to sit next to during lunch and someone who walked with her through the hallways to their next class. It gave the young Bishop a boost of confidence, making her not hate school as much as she used to. All of a sudden, Ellie was able to blend out all the other kids at school, not caring about their looks or their whispering. She just didn’t notice it anymore.

Even outside of school, her life had changed. Hannah and she became inseparable within a few weeks, and Ellie couldn’t remember a time where her new friend wasn’t with her. They had sleepovers, went to the movies, or just hung out on the farm. Hannah loved horses as much as Ellie did, but was never able to learn to ride, so Ellie started to teach her.

Hannah was easy to be around, and Ellie enjoyed her time with her. The New York girl was down to earth, funny, and super straightforward, a trait that Ellie valued most about her. As Hannah had put it: she never sugar-coated things.

After years of feeling out of place and silently questioning herself, Ellie realized that she didn’t need to fit in with the rest of the kids at school. She had just needed to find her own niche, and with Hannah, she had finally found it.

Just a few days before Halloween, Hannah and she went to Hinton’s Autumn Festival. Their town was one of the bigger ones in Caddo county, and their festival had gotten more popular each year. Next to the street fair, there was a hayride, a pumpkin patch, several haunted houses, a corn maze, and a parade. 

Ellie was used to going to the festival with her brothers, but now that she was friends with Hannah, she had stopped tagging along with Robbie. It was a pleasant change for the siblings, and while Robbie had been wary of his sister’s new friend at first, he quickly changed his mind after he saw the two of them together. Her older brother was happy that she finally had someone on her side beside him.

After the parade had ended, the two girls had gotten something to eat and wandered around a bit before they ended up at the corn maze at the edge of the festival. It had gotten dusky as the sun had set, but it wasn’t quite dark yet. They were saving the haunted houses for the dark, wanting to make it as scary as possible.

A few other people had the same idea as the corn maze was packed. One second, Ellie was talking to Hannah about the size of the maze last year, and in the next second, she was pushed around a corner, losing Hannah on the way. 

“Hannah?” Ellie called out, huffing irritated as more people surrounded her and she realized that she had landed in a group of middle school-aged girls who were clinging to each other tightly, giggling loudly, while pushing through the maze.

Ellie lifted her arms in front of herself, nudging her way out of the group, before trying to walk the exact way back. She was sure that she had gotten back to the point where she lost Hannah, but the other girl must have gone looking for her.

Ellie sighed. Walking through a maze alone was boring, but Hannah would probably try to find her way out at some point, and it was really the only logical thing she could do too. Starting to walk into the opposite direction again, Ellie wandered around the corn field for some time, coming across a few of her classmates, but she never found Hannah.

“Ellie?” A male voice called out to her, and without turning around, she knew it was Nick. She would recognize his voice out of a thousand.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw him approaching, his friends obviously not caring as they walked off into the other direction. He looked handsome in his dark blue jeans and gray hoodie with their school emblem on it, the big, red H catching her eye.

“Are you here alone?” He asked as he stopped beside her. “I thought I saw you with Hannah earlier.”

Huh. She never saw him today.

“I might have lost her when I got pulled into a group of middle school-aged girls,” she admitted, pushing a few strands of hair back behind her ear. “I figured she would just try to get through the maze now and I guess I’m doing the same.”

“Wanna have some company?” Nick asked, the corner of his lips ticking upwards.

The air caught in her lungs and she squeaked, “What about your friends?”

Nick shrugged as he turned around to where his friends had stood just a few moments ago. “Seems like they have left me behind too.” He tilted his head, looking at her softly. “Come on, we should figure out the way out of here before it gets dark.”

He passed her, bumping his shoulder into hers, and her heart started to beat faster. Spending some time alone with Nick seemed thrilling. He still occupied her mind a lot, and while Hannah was an excellent distraction, her thoughts returned to the boy whenever she was alone—especially in the mornings or late at night. Most of the time, he was the first thing she thought about after waking up, and the last thing she remembered when falling asleep. It was crazy.

Shaking her head softly, she followed the Latino, catching up to him quickly.

“I don’t think this is the right way. I just came from here,” she offered, falling into step beside him. “And I think the exit is on the west end of the field. We’re currently walking north.”

Nick laughed softly. “Are you trying to approach everything with logic?”

“I don’t know how else we would find our way out of here.” She wrinkled her brows in confusion.

“Just don’t try to over-analyze it and go where your gut tells you to.”

“We can try it your way, but then I don’t see us getting out of here any time soon,” Ellie stated, blinking a few times.

Nick stopped next to her, his hands going to his hips. “Ellie Bishop, you better have some faith in my method.”

Her eyes widened at his scolding.

“Just trust me,” he quickly added as he walked backwards down the path before them. He sent her his famous smile, and Ellie bit her lip, letting her head fall back into her neck, before taking a deep breath and following him.

They walked next to each other for a while, not saying a word. Ellie felt awkward, but she wasn’t sure how to start the conversation. She had no clue what she wanted to talk about with Nick. Mundane things like the weather or school were out of question. Apart from running, Ellie wasn’t sure they had anything in common, but then again she barely knew Nick. He was just her brother’s friend. A boy from her school who was nice enough to talk to her. He was in his senior year; he would move away next summer. She really shouldn’t get attached to him.

But then his hand bumped against hers. With anyone else, Ellie would have brushed it off as an accidental touch, but with Nick it was different. Her pulse quickened as she felt him walk closer to her, their shoulders almost touching. Every so often, his arm would graze hers and every single time, Ellie felt an electric burst run through her body. She didn’t dare to peek over to him, afraid of his reaction.

As his forefinger gently ran down her own, Ellie felt like she was gonna explode any second. Her heart was now almost beating out of her chest and a wave of heat coursed through her body. His finger nudged hers again, and a second later, she felt his knuckles moving over the back of her hand as his last two digits slipped into the palm of her hand, intertwining with a few of her own. His thumb came to rest on the back of her hand, slowly stroking her cold skin.

Her breath caught in her throat as he gave her hand a soft squeeze, barely noticeable as their hands were only loosely intertwined.

She glanced up at him, meeting his warm brown eyes. He seemed to be holding his breath as well, as his lips parted slightly, his eyes shining with something that seemed like hope to her. A shy smile spread across his lips.

Ellie felt her insides combust, the flattering in her stomach intensifying the longer she held his gaze. The way he looked at her was indescribable to her. Nobody had ever looked at her like this before and it made her feel special.

Nick tugged at her hand, pulling her to walk again, and it was only then that Ellie realized they had stopped in the first place. She bit her lip to stop the silly grin from forming on her face, averting her eyes onto the ground.

Nick just squeezed her fingers again, keeping her next to him as they walked through the rest of the maze. Every so often, he stroked his thumb over the back of her hand as if he was reminding her of their connection.

Ellie didn’t need to be reminded of their contact though, hyper-aware of it. She felt like she was floating on a cloud and nothing could ever bring her down. She had pushed the thought of Nick liking her too out of her head for so long that she could hardly wrap her mind around it now. It seemed surreal, like something that only happened in movies.

“Ellie! Finally, I thought I’d never find you again!” Hannah’s voice pierced her ears and the young Bishop froze on the spot, looking wide-eyed at her friend who was standing by the exit of the maze. Ellie hadn’t even realized that they had found their way out of the maze in the first place. Time had seemed to stop the moment Nick had taken her hand into his.

Hannah’s eyes moved to their laced hands, and Ellie quickly withdrew her fingers from Nick’s. Her friend had caught her though, a smirk spreading over the other girl’s face.

“Well, I see you were just fine,” Hannah grinned, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Should I just get lost again in the haunted house?”

Ellie blushed furiously, not daring to look up to Nick as she stammered, “Thank you for walking with me. It was really nice of you.”

She felt so embarrassed that she quickly made her way over to Hannah, grabbing her arm and pulling her away from Nick without ever looking back at him or waiting for an answer.

“Girl, you never told me you have a boyfriend! Let alone such a hottie,” Hannah teased her, linking her arm through Ellie’s, and slowing her down a little.

“Hannah! Keep it down!”

“Ellie, chill! That boy is smitten. You should have seen the way he looked at you when you walked away. You have him wrapped around your finger,” Hannah assured her, giving her arm a squeeze.

“You think?” Ellie whispered, looking back up to her friend.

The blonde girl chuckled, bumping her hip against Ellie. “You are cute when you’re all shy and insecure, Ellie Bishop! But you better tell me everything about that boy. I’m in need of some good old girl talk!”

Ellie smiled softly, leaning her head against Hannah’s shoulder. Her hand was still warm, tingling from Nick’s touch and telling Hannah about Nick, made everything just a little more real.

\------

“I really don’t know what to wear,” Ellie huffed, throwing another shirt out of her closet. “I don’t wanna look too fancy.”

“You’re stressing yourself out over nothing, Ellie. It’s just another Thanksgiving dinner,” Hannah groaned, rolling onto her back. She was lying on Ellie’s bed, scrolling through her Instagram feed on her phone.

“It’s different this year. Nick’s gonna be here,” the young Bishop tried to reason as she threw another shirt on the ground. She was beyond frustrated.

Tomorrow was Thanksgiving, and her mom had just informed her that Nick would be there too. Apparently, his mom was working, and his sister couldn’t make it this year as she was completing her United States Marine Corps Recruit Training at the moment. Nick would have been home alone, so Robbie had invited him over to their house. Her brother hadn’t even bothered to tell her that his friend was coming over for Thanksgiving. Maybe that wasn’t the worst thing though, as it meant that Robbie was still more or less clueless about her liking Nick. 

“Alright, Ellie, let me see,” Hannah indulged her, standing up from the bed and walking over to her. “Your closet is full of stuff, there’s got to be something in here.”

Ellie sighed with relief as her friend searched through her shirts. “I’m making a big deal out of this, I know.”

“It’s normal, Ellie. He is your first crush, and I’m pretty sure you’re halfway in love with that boy already,” Hannah reassured her, grabbing a couple of blouses.

The young Bishop blushed at her friend’s words. Was she really in love with Nick? She hardly even knew him. She had just turned sixteen last week. How could she know anything about love?

“Stop freaking out. You’re driving yourself crazy for no reason.” Hannah handed her a white blouse. “Nick already likes you. You don’t have to impress him anymore.”

Ellie held the blouse up in front of her. “I just don’t know what’s going on in his head. We have those really nice moments, and then he hardly looks at me for a few weeks. I don’t know what to do with that.”

“Well, he’s a boy. They hardly do anything with a clear goal in mind. Just give it more time. Maybe you’re intimidating him,” Hannah shrugged, motioning her to try the blouse on.

“We hardly ever talk. How on earth could that intimidate him?” Ellie raised up her eyebrows as she pulled the blouse over her head, before walking over to the mirror and mustering herself.

“Well ok, maybe he’s intimidated by your brothers? You don’t know what Robbie told him a few weeks ago at the football game,” her friend corrected herself, following her to the mirror. “Just wear dark blue jeans with it, you know the ones we bought the other day?”

Ellie was one hundred percent sure that Robbie had told Nick that she was off-limits for him. She had at least heard him say something along the lines. That, however, hadn’t stopped Nick from holding her hand at the corn maze. Maybe he was just intimidated by George and John, but that didn’t make sense either as they were hardly at home anyway. Nick simply couldn’t be intimidated by her brothers. It wasn’t logical. There had to be a different reason for his hesitation.

Ellie looked at her friend through the mirror. “Do you think Robbie would find it weird if Nick and I ever dated?”

Hannah frowned, putting her hands on her hips. “Let me put it like this: Would you find it weird, if Robbie and I ever dated?”

Turning around, Ellie faced the other girl, a mischievous smile crossing her face as she countered, “I do think Robbie has a crush on you. He would never admit it, but I know him.”

Hannah leveled her with a pointed look. “Don’t turn this around. This is not about me. You know I’m not looking for a new relationship any time soon.”

It was true. Upon leaving New York, Hannah had broken up with her boyfriend. While they had talked about trying long-distance, Hannah had just been too realistic. New York and Hinton were separated by six different states—omitting their own state—and not even in the same time zone. Granted, it was just an hour difference, but the Big Apple was still over 1,500 miles and an almost 24-hour drive away. Adding to that the workload of an average high school student was gonna keep them on their toes, and if they wanted to have a social life out of school, it would take even more time away from them. It just hadn’t made sense. And in the end, they broke up.

“Just saying. You started it,” Ellie said, walking back to her closet and looking for the new jeans. “Just FYI, I would be happy for the two of you. I love my brother, and you’re my best friend. It’d be a good fit.”

“Ellie,” Hannah grumbled, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “You’re not getting my point here. Apart from Robbie and Nick being friends, you’re also his little sister, and I guess there are just certain things a brother doesn’t want to know about his sister’s love life.”

The blonde girl wiped her head around, looking at her friend with wide eyes. “Hannah!

“Don’t Hannah me. I keep telling you that men’s brains are wired a little differently. Physical attraction, especially sex, is just one of their first thoughts. It’s not gonna be different for Robbie.” The tall girl plopped down on the bed again, rolling onto her stomach. “And knowing the guy your little sister sleeps with can be a little weird, I guess.”

Ellie had never thought that far. Obviously, liking Nick felt more innocent to her than to Hannah. She had never thought past him liking her back and what it entailed. Holding his hand had been easy enough, and it felt good, but if they would really get together, Nick probably wanted to do a lot more than to just hold her hand.

The thought made her blush creep back onto her cheeks, and she suddenly started to sweat a little. She had absolutely no experience in that department. She hadn’t had a first-anything yet!

“You’re freaking out again,” Hannah stated, sitting up onto her knees on the bed. “I’m sorry if that was a little too forward. Those are all things that are not relevant right now. Let’s just concentrate on finding you something to wear for tomorrow, ok?”

Nodding, Ellie turned back to her closet, pulling out the new jeans with a little too much force as a few other jeans fell out too. She was trying hard to clear her thoughts of Nick and all the things he could possibly want to do with her, but her hands were already trembling at the thought of Nick being close to her.

Two long arms wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her back and squeezing her softly.

“You’re fine, Ellie. It’s normal to be a little nervous about your first relationship,” Hannah said in a calm voice, rocking her gently. “I don’t really know Nick, but from what I gathered he seems like a great guy. He hasn’t pushed you to do anything, and I don’t think he ever will.”

Sighing, Ellie leaned back against her friend, closing her eyes. “I’m sorry for freaking out.”

“Don’t apologize. We’ve all been new to the world of relationships and boyfriends at some point,” Hannah chuckled, letting go of her. “Now, put on those jeans, so I can see the complete outfit.”

Ellie laughed softly as Hannah went back to her bed. Having Hannah as a friend was the best thing that happened to her, and she vowed to herself to never take that friendship for granted.

\------

Thanksgiving dinner had been uneventful and a little disappointing. Ellie barely had a chance to talk to Nick as Robbie had whisked him away from her the second he came over. She had just enough time to return his polite smile before Robbie had pulled him into the living room.

Even at the table, Robbie had placed himself between the two of them, shielding him completely from her view. It confused Ellie to the point where she felt herself getting paranoid and thinking her brother knew exactly what was going on in her head, but Robbie hadn’t given her any other reason to believe her theory. He was talking to Nick, John, and their dad about the Comet’s football season, happily eating his turkey. Now and then, he bumped shoulders with her, sending her a quick smile or winking at her. He seemed normal, and Ellie pushed her paranoia away.

George had sat on her other side, keeping her mind occupied for the rest of the time as he wanted to know all about her new friend Hannah and their shenanigans. Apparently, their mom had told her oldest brother about her new friend. It was nice talking to George again. Even though he moved back to Hinton, Ellie rarely saw him these days. The times that George had come to family dinner in the last few weeks could be counted on the fingers of one hand. 

After dinner, they had all moved to the living room to watch the football game. The New Orleans Saints were playing the Dallas Cowboys, and the boys were engrossed in the game. Ellie had sat on the floor next to Janet, George’s girlfriend, and they had talked about school and Ellie’s plans for the future. Janet, who was born in Hinton as well, was also a quiet person, and George and she were high school sweethearts, so Ellie had known her for a long time. Talking to Janet was easy and time seemed to run by as her mother suddenly brought them pumpkin pie during half-time.

After finishing her pie during the second half of the game, Ellie decided to get some fresh air, so she went to the barn to check on Flora. The mare nickered softly upon seeing her and Ellie let herself fall onto the neatly piled bales of straw against the back of the barn next to Flora’s box. The horse walked over to her, stretching her head out of the box, and bopped her nose against Ellie’s face.

“Hey girl,” Ellie greeted her, rubbing her hand over the bridge of her nose. The horse sniffed around her upper body carefully, stopping at the pocket of her coat.

“You know I brought you something, don’t you?” Ellie chuckled, grabbing into the pocket of her father’s plaid, old coat, and taking a small carrot out of it.

She held it out to the palomino mare who took it eagerly from her, almost inhaling the carrot, before sniffing around Ellie again.

“I don’t have anything else,” the girl cooed softly, reaching up to scratch between the mare’s ears. Flora immediately tilted her head to the side, giving Ellie better access. It was one of her sweet spots that also calmed her down when nothing else worked.

Ellie didn’t know how long she sat there, scratching the horse. Flora had dozed off a while ago, and Ellie had closed her eyes as well. She could hear the loud laughter coming from the house once in a while, but most of the time she enjoyed the quiet, pushing the disappointment of the evening away from her.

When Flora lifted her head, her ears turning into the direction of the barn door a while later, Ellie’s hand slipped from the horse. She opened her eyes, finding Nick walking towards her. Her eyes went wide, and she sat up straight, quickly combing her fingers through her tousled hair.

He stopped just a few feet in front of her, leaning against Flora’s box. “I thought I might find you here. I’m heading out and I wanted to say good night.”

Confused, Ellie checked her watch. “Oh, I didn’t realize how late it was.”

“The game just ended. The Cowboys won,” he explained, holding his hand out to Flora who had moved over to him. The mare sniffed it before curiously moving down to his pockets.

Ellie chuckled. “Sometimes I think she’s a truffle pig. She can smell treats from miles away.” She jumped off the bales of straw, landing gracefully on her feet, before pulling a treat out of her father’s jacket. “Here, you can give her one if you want.” She held the treat out to Nick, who stretched out his hand to hers.

Their fingers brushed at the exchange, and Ellie felt an electric burst run through her body at the contact.

“What do I do now?” Nick asked her, stepping a little closer to her.

“You hold out your hand like this,” Ellie explained, showing him her flat palm.

He mirrored her, hesitating to move his hand closer to the horse who had already noticed the treat. The mare was stretching her mouth towards him, smacking her lips impatiently.

Feeling bold, Ellie grabbed his hand carefully, stepping into his personal space and moving their hands towards the horse. As Flora grabbed the treat, Nick’s hand shot around her back, gripping her waist.

Ellie grinned at Nick’s surprised face and when Flora started sniffing around again, Ellie pushed her head away, scolding her sternly, “That’s enough for now. Go eat your hay, girl.”

The horse snorted reluctantly, before pulling her head back into the box.

“She listens well to you,” Nick told her, sounding impressed as he pulled her back a step by the waist while pulling at her hand to make her turn around.

Suddenly, their faces were just inches away from each other, and Ellie could feel his warm breath on her face. His hands were now both lying on her waist, holding her close to him as her own hands came to rest on his chest.

Her heart was hammering against her chest, and she was afraid that he might feel it. She was surrounded by his smell and the world around her seemed to stop moving as she locked eyes with him.

“I smell like a horse,” she blurted out, cringing at her own words. Did she really just say that?

Nick chuckled, and Ellie could feel his chest rumbling under her hands. “Is that supposed to scare me off?” One of his hands moved up to her face, tugging a loose strand of hair behind her ear before it came to rest on her cheek. “You looked beautiful today.”

Ellie’s breath caught in her throat and a blush formed on her cheeks. She averted her gaze, her eyes coming to rest on her hands on his chest and she snagged the zipper of his jacket between her fingers, picking at it, murmuring a quiet, “Thank you.”

His thumb stroked over her cheekbone, his fingers feeling calloused, gently scratching against her skin. He moved his face closer to hers, tilting her head up again.

“I really want to kiss you, Ellie,” he whispered, his hold on her waist tightening.

Ellie held her breath, her eyes darting back up to his, but they were closed. She felt light-headed at his words, a shiver coursing through her entire body. Her brain short-circuited as her hand traveled up his chest, over his collarbone and to his neck. His skin felt warm under her touch, and she used her hold on him to drag his face closer to hers as she pushed herself up onto her tiptoes.

Their lips were hovering over each other, almost touching as the two of them breathed the same air. Their noses were brushing, and Nick tilted her head gently to the side, and Ellie could feel the smile on his face. He was waiting for her to cross the remaining distance, giving her the chance to pull back. Ellie’s heart soared at the realization, but the last thing she wanted to do was pull back.

“Ellie, get back in here!” George’s voice boomed through the air, and Ellie froze just as she felt the tips of Nick’s lips against hers. “You don’t have to sing that horse to sleep. She’s capable of falling asleep herself!”

Her body immediately went into flight mode, her head moving away from Nick’s as if she had been burned. Her eyes snapped open and panic rose inside her body. If it wasn’t for Nick’s strong hold on her, she would have jumped away from him, but he held her close.

His head fell to her shoulder as he groaned softly. She could feel his warm breath against her neck and another wave of heat spread through her body. Her fingers scratched his neck gently, and it animated him to pull her fully into his body, wrapping her in a hug.

He lifted his head, guiding her own under his chin before his hand came to rest on the back of her head, tangling in her hair. His lips pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, and Ellie wrapped her own arms around his body, squeezing him gently. Goosebumps erupted on her entire body and her forehead tingled from the sweet kiss he gave her.

“He’s gonna come to the barn, if I don’t go in soon,” Ellie whispered, not ready to step away from Nick as she listened to his erratic heartbeat, but George finding them like this was not an option.

“Yeah, we don’t want that,” he agreed to her silent statement, his voice raspy as both of his hands framed her face and made her look at him. “Go on a date with me, Ellie.”

Her throat felt dry, and she didn’t trust herself to form words, so she nodded her head instead, a smile spreading across her face.

Upon her confirmation, Nick broke out in a smile too, leaning his forehead briefly against hers. “I’m gonna go now,” he hummed, giving her one more squeeze, before pressing a kiss to her cheek and loosening their embrace.

His hand lingered on her cheek, his thumb caressing her soft skin.

“Good night, Nick,” she breathed, her hand catching his as he moved away from her.

“Sweet dreams, Ellie,” he replied as he slowly walked backward, their hands only losing contact when their outstretched arms weren’t long enough anymore. “I’m looking forward to our date.”

With that he disappeared out of the barn door, leaving Ellie with wobbly knees and a racing heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! :)

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think!
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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